Tenth Knesset
(1981 - 1984)
The main event during the term of the tenth
Knesset was "Operation
Peace for the Galilee," which began in June 1982. The declared
goal of the operation was to remove the shelters of the Palestinian
terrorists from southern Lebanon, and its broader goal was to cause
the election in Lebanon of a government that would be willing to sign
a peace agreement with Israel and liquidate the PLO.
The operation, which at first enjoyed a broad consensus
in Israel, rapidly turned into the focus of disagreement that manifested
itself in the street and in the debates of the Knesset.
The controversy intensified following the massacre
of Palestinian refugees in the camps of Sabra
and Shatilla near Beirut, which was planned and implemented by one
of the Christian militias. The Kahan investigative committee, which was appointed in November 1982, found
that political and military factors had not acted to prevent the act.
These findings brought about the resignation of Ariel
Sharon from his position as Minister
of Defense.
Operation Peace for the Galilee also caused a serious
deterioration in Israel's international status. Simultaneously with
the effort to liquidate the PLO, Village Leagues were set up in Judea
and Samaria with the hope that an alternative Palestinian leadership
would emerge. In the course of the term of the tenth Knesset the Israeli
law was applied to the Golan
Heights, and the withdrawal
from the Sinai was completed with the evacuation of Yamit.
In the economic sphere the collapse of the bank shares took place, which resulted in
the bank shares of all the major Israeli banks, except the First International,
being held by the government. The grave financial state of the local
authorities also came up for debate. Toward the end of the term of the
tenth Knesset, the rate of inflation reached a three digit figure, and the "Dollarization plan"
of Minister of Finance Yoram Aridor came up. In this period the government
decided to undertake two major prestigious projects: that of the Mediterranean-Dead
Sea Canal, and that of the Lavi fighter plane. Both projects were debated
by the Knesset.
In the economic sphere, as a result of the narrow
majority of the government, the religious parties tried to change the
religious status quo. Their main success was in stopping El Al flights
on Saturday (Shabbat).
Unrelated to the flights on Saturday, after a long period of strikes
in El Al, the national airline was placed in the hands of a termporary
receiver.
In this period the ultra religious group "Atra
Kadisha" intensified its activities, and the problem of the ancient
graves found in the building site of the "Hamat Gader" hotel
in Tiberias, came up for debate
in the Knesset.
Additional issues that came up for debate in the tenth
Knesset were the murder of Peace Now activist Emil Grunsweig, the apprehension
of the members of the Jewish Underground, the No. 300 bus affair and
the murder by Arabs of the boy Danny Katz in Haifa.
The Knesset also dealt with the Prisoners of Zion and the growing number
of emigrants (yordim). On May 5, 1982, the Knesset held a special debate
on the foundations of the Israeli parliamentary system.
Sources: The Knesset |